🏠 Wellington Property Prep: What’s Worth It (and What’s Not)

With house prices having reduced and the market favouring buyers, should sellers avoid spending money on their properties all together?  That’s a good question.  We’ve sold well over 400 homes, in both up and down markets (and all the in-between). Here’s what we’ve learned:

🏠 First, Saleability.

Everything is sellable - for a price.  But you can really boost both your saleability (and drastically shorten your time to sell), with the right spruce ups.  It's about widening the potential pool of buyers through presentation.  By making your property appeal to more people, you’ll get more interest and a better and quicker sale than otherwise.  Think house, gutters, fences and paths wash, deep cleaning inside, garden tidy-ups, showing space, and removing any ‘ick’ factors (e.g. refuse, mould, manky carpets, worn curtains and nets, pet smells).

🤑 Protecting Your Price. 

Buyers will pay more if they think it’s worth more and vice-versa.  They also tend to overestimate maintenance costs, taking more of the price than it costs to sort.  Here you’re looking to avoid that 'nose wrinkle' by addressing those maintenance issues that will otherwise cause people to pause or be put off altogether.  Think patching holes in walls, painting out to freshen, rust treating and painting the roof to extend life, having rotten weatherboards cut out and replaced, removing or replacing worn or marked floor coverings.  

💰 Optimising Your Price. 

Leaning in to the fact that buyers will pay more if they think it's worth more, you’re looking for smart things and improvements that will boost the buyers impression of value by more than your outlay… and by a lot. Think decorating, decluttering and staging up rooms to enhance spaces, swapping out or upgrading worn fittings (e.g. toilets and vanities), replacing light fittings, creating appealing features (e.g. outdoor areas)…to name just a few. 

😎 Picking Your Agent. 

The last factor that impacts all of this and more is picking your agent representative.  When you come to sell, it’s your biggest asset, your wealth and your ability to move forward at-stake.  In a world where you’re (1) assured of being SOLD and (2) your Price is SET and ASSURED this would be easy.  But neither is true.  

There’s no recommended retail price for property and instead it’s a range in which you can add significant value.  This is vital to understand.  It can be confusing and time consuming.  To make it simpler, decide at the outset if you’re looking for (a) the lowest fee agent, (b) the highest sale price or (3) the best service.  You can’t have all three.

It's all about knowing the difference between value and cost — and the sellers who understand that will come out ahead. There’s a reason agents now have to show their commission in actual dollars, not just percentages. Percentages are confusing. So, let’s say your home’s worth $800,000. A ‘discount’ agent charging 1.0% might “save” you $8,000 in fees. Sounds good, right?  But a better agent charging a bit more often gets you a lot more — like 5% to 15% more on the sale price. That’s $40,000 to $120,000 extra in your pocket, compared to the $8K you “saved.”  You do the maths.  Plus that 'discount agent' might not even get your house sold!

Pro-tip – hire the best master negotiator and value creator you can to get you (1) sold, (2) get you more at sale and (3) remove stress.  Plus, an experienced agent will offer more skilful management and communication of any property issues and disclosures, better deal with property faults and defects, and therefore save you tens of thousands, protect you legally and avoid crashed deals.  And BONUS - you’ll only pay them on your own result.  So choose an agent that has proven results e.g. PRICES ACHIEVED and SELL RATE (being the percentage of listings actually sold).

Leonie and Steve - Senior Agents Harcourts 2025